In this context report I will examine how Cumberland High School, the Cumberland district, and the surrounding community interact and compare to the rest of the state, according to a number of statistical analysis', to give prospective teachers an idea of what to expect if they decide to teach in this area. In looking at the community that filters into Cumberland High School this report will take a look at statistics from the 2000 census and compare this community to others not only in Rhode Island but also the rest of the United States. Statistics that will be used for these comparisons include median household and family incomes, per capita income, and then individual and family poverty levels. This section will look at the racial and ethnic make-up of the town of Cumberland compared to the rest of Rhode Island and the rest of the USA as well. Finally the community section also takes a look at the support that parents in the community provide for the school system. The next section will take a look at the Cumberland school district, but more specifically how the district is funded from taxes compared to the rest of the country and the rest of the state, how much money is dedicated to students for general education and for special needs, and what percentage of students need subsidies or special instruction. In the final section of analysis, this report will inspect and scrutinize the school environment for students, the quality of the curriculum and the amount of AP testing, the diversity of the school, how many students require special services like lunch subsidies, the interactions between parents and teachers, and how the school holds up against its peers in standardized testing.
The Community
The town of Cumberland was founded in 1746 by William Blackstone and was known for years for its rich supply of natural resources, much like its namesake in England (Wright, 2004). According to Census Bureau statistics from 2000, the town of Cumberland has a population of 31,840 people (US Census Bureau). It is a Rhode Island suburb just 15 miles outside of the capital of Providence (Mapquest). Cumberland, from a socioeconomic perspective, is an above average but still middle class town in Rhode Island, and holds a similar status when looking at the entire United States. The median household income in 1999 in Cumberland was $54,656 compared to $42,090 dollars for the average Rhode Island household and $41,994 for the average household in the United States (US Census Bureau). The median family income in Cumberland is also above average according to the 2000 census; the median family income was $63,194 in Cumberland compared to $52,781 for the state and $50,046 for the entire country (US Census Bureau). The per capita income in Cumberland in 1999 was $25,592, $3904 dollars higher than the average per capita income in Rhode Island and $4005 dollars higher than that of the United States (US Census Bureau). In a continuation of economic statistics from the Cumberland area, the most recent research done by the Bureau of Labor shows that the unemployment rate in Cumberland reached 6.5% in June, when the current national average is about 6.1%, so the town of Cumberland is currently suffering some economic hardship much like the rest of the country (Bureau of Labor). Property taxes are not especially high in Cumberland, residents only pay $12.38 for every $1000 of assessment according to Municipal Affairs (RI Municipal affairs). The town of Cumberland is not largely occupied by impoverished either, only 2.9% of Cumberland families in 1999 were below the poverty level versus 8.9% of the families of Rhode Island under the poverty line and 9.2% of the families of the United States (US Census Bureau). Individuals in Cumberland also seem to fare well in this statistic, only 3.9% of Individuals in Cumberland were below the poverty line in 1999 against 11.9% of individuals in Rhode Island and 12.4% of individuals in the United States (US Census Bureau). Cumberland is largely a well educated community, 81.4% of the population has at least graduated from high school and 29.5 % of the population has at least gotten a bachelors degree (US Census Bureau).
Income/Poverty
Cumberland
RI in 1999
US in 1999
Median Household Income
$54,656 (1999)
$42,090
$41,994
Median Family Income
$63,194 (1999)
$52,781
$50,046
Per Capita Income
$25,592 (1999)
$21,688
$21,587
Families below poverty level
2.9% (1999)
8.9%
9.2%
Individuals below poverty level
3.9% (1999)
11.9%
12.4%
From an ethnicity standpoint, Cumberland is not a diverse community. In Cumberland, 99.1% of the people are one race and 96.7% percent of the people are just white. Only .6% of the population is African American, only .8% is Asian, and only 2.1% of the people in Cumberland somehow define themselves as Hispanic or Latino according to the 2000 census (US Census Bureau). In statistics for the state of Rhode Island they measured that the population was 85% white, 4.5% Black, 2.3% Asian, and 8.7% Hispanic (US Census Bureau). The United States is much more diverse than either the Cumberland or Rhode Island, in 2000 they calculated that the country was 75.1% white, 12.3% African American, 3.6% Asian, and 12.5% Hispanic. Cumberland is 52.3% female and 47.7% male versus 50.9% female and 49.1% male for the United States (US Census Bureau).
Race Table
Cumberland
Rhode Island (2006)
RI in 1999
US in 2006
US in 1999
White
96.7% (1999)
82.6%
85.0%
73.9%
75.1%
Black
.6% (1999)
5.1%
4.5%
12.4%
12.3%
Asian
.8% (1999)
2.8%
2.3%
4.4%
3.6%
Hispanic
2.1% (1999)
11.0%
8.7%
14.8%
12.5%
According to reports from parents, the schools in Cumberland are very welcoming to parents. There is a good parent organization running parallel with the school system, although most of the parents with students at the High School feel parents are more involved with the younger grades and the older ones don't receive as much attention. The general consensus though over the years has been that the community supports its schools (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). The community of Cumberland may be affluent on average but lacking diversity, it may currently be suffering from economic hardship but the community of Cumberland would not have schools at the level that they have without the support of the township and community of Cumberland.
The District
The Cumberland school district is a big school district for a state that contains just over a million people, educating 4997 people, across 8 schools, in the past school year of the over 142000 kids that were being educated in the state (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). But where does Cumberland get money to run this enormous school district? In the 2007-2008 school year the Cumberland school district spent $48,885,651 educating its students. 35.1 million dollars of that money to fund this district came from local tax revenue, in other words, 70% of the budget is provided from local funds. Another 13.3 million dollars is provided for the school from state tax revenue, 26% of the schools budget. The final 4% of the budget is funds provided by the federal government, or 2 million dollars (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). Compared to the averages state wide, the Cumberland school district gets more of its money from local taxes, the average school in Rhode Island gets 55% of its funds from local taxes, adding up to 1.1 billion dollars statewide; on average 37% of school funds are provided through state taxes and 8% from federal taxes, this adds up to 749.8 and 145.6 million dollars respectively (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008).
On a per student basis, the funds going into the Cumberland school district add up to $9,783 dollars per pupil for all programs, without other commitments. This is not as much funding as the average Rhode Island student who ,on average, receives about $12,700 annually (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). When comparing the per-pupil expenditure fund in just general education Cumberland still falls behind the state average at $7386 compared to the average general education student in Rhode Island at $9409 (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). Of the average per-pupil expenditures in Cumberland, $5554 goes to the instruction, $1800 to instructional support, $1846 to operations and $584 goes to leadership (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). An additional $223 dollars goes to the 646 students that qualify under title I, the 1041 students receiving special education receive $13,210 on average, $6368 goes to the 77 students in career and technical education, and the 35 students who are considered English language learners receive $12,744. In Rhode Island, Title I students typically receive $536, special education students usually get $16,382, $4249 goes to each student in career and technical education usually, and the average English language learner receives $7931 (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008).
Sources of Revenue/Funding
Revenue/Funding
Cumberland
RI
Local
70%- 35.1 Million
55%- 1.1 Billion
State
26%- 13.3 Million
37%-749.8 Million
Federal
4%- 2.0 Million
7%- 145.6 Million
Per-pupil Expenditures Excluding other commitments
Indicator
Cumberland-
All Programs
RI-
All Programs
Cumberland-
General Education
RI-
General Education
Number of
Students
4,997
142, 785
Number of
Teachers
446
14,160
Teacher/Student
Ratio
1:11
1:10
Total
Expenditure
$48,885,651
$ 1,813,369,500
Total per-pupil
Expenditure
$9,783
$12,700
$7,386
$9,409
Instruction
$5,554
Instruction
Support
$1,800
Operations
$1846
Leadership
$584
Per-pupil Expenditures Including other commitments
Indicator
District/Number of Students
RI
General Education
$7386/4997
$9,220
Title I
$223/646
$536
Special Education
$13,210/1041
$16,382
Career & Technical
Education
$6368/77
$4249
English Language Learners
$12,744/35
$7,931
The Cumberland district also has to send funding to students with added needs and reallocate funds to kids in certain programs. According to state, the Cumberland district has made adequate progress, but only one school was commended for it's performance.The schools in the Cumberland district struggled, they almost totally failed to meet the statewide average in standardized testing in all age groups and categories. All of the schools in the Cumberland district have been targeted for improvement meaning something has gone wrong in this district. In the Cumberland district the average student to teacher ratio is 1:11 compared to the state's 1:10 average. In the Cumberland school district, 13% of the students are eligible for the subsidized lunch programs, 7% of the students come from ethnic backgrounds, 2% require ESL services from the school, and 19% of the students body receives some form of special education needs (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). The Cumberland district, according to these statistics may not be overly diverse ethnically but like many other districts the needs of the student body are. According to RIDE mandates, any student who is outside of walking distance from the school receives busing to school no matter what, 1/4 a mile for kindergarten students, 1/2 for grades 1-5, 1 mile for 6-8, and 1 1/2 miles for for grades 9-12. Cumberland offer a number of athletic programs from football, baseball, Cross country, softball, to girls indoor track, wrestling and so on. The Clippers have combined for 82 state titles and 3 New England championships in various programs.
Student Characteristics
Indicator
Values
Subsidized Lunch Program
13%
Ethnic Backgrounds
7%
ESL Services
2%
Special Education Services
19%
The School
Cumberland High School on 2600 is a big part of the community in Cumberland. At this school is where close to 1500 kids finish their secondary school education and are escorted into adulthood, whether that leads them to an advancement in their education in the hopes of making it big, or off into the professional world to get a head start on their peers. At Cumberland High, students are given the opportunity and use the opportunity to test their knowledge all the way up to the AP level, nearly a quarter of the senior population in the 2006-2007 school year took an AP exam at some point, 63% of which scored with a college-level mastery of the subject. General education students at Cumberland High School have been exceeding the expectations set for them by No Child Left Behind. Saying that, while the general education students have been performing well, students in the special education area of this school have been floundering. In 2007 students with disabilities did not reach their targeted math score in standardized testing, placing the school under caution by No Child Left Behind. In 2008, students with disabilities at Cumberland High School struggled even more, failing to meet the criteria for both mathematics and English language arts. The next thing to look at when judging a school system is seeing whether or not it is a safe and supportive environment for the students who go to that school. At Cumberland High School, 43% of students said that they had been robbed at some point and 37% claimed someone had offered to sell them drugs, numbers that are a little high to be comfortable with. Also, 18% said they had a problem getting along with teachers and 13% reported that they had had a serious problem with being bullied by another student. Another statistic that could bother someone looking into Cumberland High School is that only 16% of students felt like they could talk to a teacher about a personal or family problem, and only 47% thought they could talk to a teacher about an academic problem, their area of expertise. Cumberland does not do as much as the rest of the state high schools in keeping the student to teacher ratio low, the ratio at this school is 1:13 compared to 1:10 for the state average.
Compared to the rest of the state, Cumberland is also behind in standardized testing. In the past year, they have been behind the state average in every testing category in mathematics and English language arts while also being behind in school climate, parental involvement, and instruction by the same standards. Cumberland High School students are only 56% proficient in math skills and 28% proficient in problem solving, compared to 57% and 35% proficiency respectively across Rhode Island. Cumberland students are also falling behind their peers in the state in reading analysis and interpretation (43% v. 44%) and writing effectiveness (39% v. 48%). One thing that Cumberland High School does have going for it is that they have a good graduation rate and fewer dropouts than the state average. In Rhode Island the average graduation rate is 89% with a complementary 11% dropout rate. At Cumberland High School, the graduation rate is 93% and the dropout rate is only 7%. According to the teachers at Cumberland High School, parental involvement is something to be worked on. 65% of teacher at Cumberland High School say that parental involvement in school governance is essential, but only 19% of teacher feel that parents in the community are supportive of the school. 59% of teachers say they maintain positive relationships with parents but that is a figure much lower than many other schools in the state.
Value-added Indicators
Indicator
Cumberland HS
RI Similar Students
Mathematics Skills
56%
57%
Mathematics problem solving
28%
35%
Reading: analysis and interpretation
43%
44%
Writing effectiveness
39%
48%
In the state of Rhode Island, 33% of the student population is eligible for the subsidized lunch program, compared to only 11% of the students in Cumberland, so Cumberland is more affluent than the average area from the bottom up (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). The state of Rhode Island also has much more diverse schools on average than Cumberland. 69.4% of students in Rhode Island high schools are white, 18% are Hispanic, 8.8% are Black, and 3.1% are Asian. In Cumberland, 91% of the Students are White, 5% are Hispanic, and 1% are Black and Asian each (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008).This lack of ethnic diversity is a sign of a great lack of cultural diversity in the area of Cumberland, as it is almost homogeneously white and there is no sign of mass immigrations to the community. In the state of Rhode Island, 5.1% of students receive ESL education or bilingual education versus no significant percentage in the Cumberland High School. Cumberland does provide about the average amount of special education services though, 18.5% of students across Rhode Island versus 18% in Cumberland High School (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). Cumberland High School does have a fair share of extracurricular activities though, with 20 sports teams and 28 clubs at the school students have plenty of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of the classroom (RI High School Sports). Overall, Cumberland High School is a school that ,while not very diverse, has shown the ability to provide a good curriculum for its students in AP testing but in recent years the school has started to slip according to state and federal testing standards and in communication between students, teachers and parents.
Conclusion
After gathering information on Cumberland, the Cumberland school district, and Cumberland High School this report reflects that while these are not a good slice of the face of America compared to demographics in the Census for the state and country, Cumberland schools have shown a great ability to perform over the years, but there has been some slippage. The community has begun to fall behind, which is surprising for an affluent community. Even though this decline has been unexpected, there are ares that are easy to target for improvement in the schools, and it starts in the community with the parents. Teachers want more parental involvement with school governance, they want parents to have more say in what goes on with their kids' education. If the parents can get more involved it will lead to better communication between parents and teachers which can then lead to a better identification of what individual students need in order to achieve to the best of their ability. So for any prospective teacher that want to come to Cumberland, there is some work to do, but this school has shown the ability to perform at high standards and it will be expected that you assist in helping the school return to that level. It is important to be able to analyze the information in reports like this because the education system is the building block for invention, innovation and improvement across society, so it is critical that we are informed and that we understand what is going on in schools, districts, and communities across the country and what we can do to improve them to aid the education system at-large.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Cirriculum and Instruction: Advanced Placement Exams. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/state/ap.pdf.
US Census Bureau. Cumberland town, Providence County, Rhode Island - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from Link
US Census Bureau. Cumberland town, Providence County, Rhode Island - Population Finder - American FactFinder. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from other link
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Information Works : Rhode Island Public Schools 2008 : School Reports. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/queries/FindSch.asp.
Context Report: Cumberland High School
Introduction
In this context report I will examine how Cumberland High School, the Cumberland district, and the surrounding community interact and compare to the rest of the state, according to a number of statistical analysis', to give prospective teachers an idea of what to expect if they decide to teach in this area. In looking at the community that filters into Cumberland High School this report will take a look at statistics from the 2000 census and compare this community to others not only in Rhode Island but also the rest of the United States. Statistics that will be used for these comparisons include median household and family incomes, per capita income, and then individual and family poverty levels. This section will look at the racial and ethnic make-up of the town of Cumberland compared to the rest of Rhode Island and the rest of the USA as well. Finally the community section also takes a look at the support that parents in the community provide for the school system. The next section will take a look at the Cumberland school district, but more specifically how the district is funded from taxes compared to the rest of the country and the rest of the state, how much money is dedicated to students for general education and for special needs, and what percentage of students need subsidies or special instruction. In the final section of analysis, this report will inspect and scrutinize the school environment for students, the quality of the curriculum and the amount of AP testing, the diversity of the school, how many students require special services like lunch subsidies, the interactions between parents and teachers, and how the school holds up against its peers in standardized testing.The Community
The town of Cumberland was founded in 1746 by William Blackstone and was known for years for its rich supply of natural resources, much like its namesake in England (Wright, 2004). According to Census Bureau statistics from 2000, the town of Cumberland has a population of 31,840 people (US Census Bureau). It is a Rhode Island suburb just 15 miles outside of the capital of Providence (Mapquest). Cumberland, from a socioeconomic perspective, is an above average but still middle class town in Rhode Island, and holds a similar status when looking at the entire United States. The median household income in 1999 in Cumberland was $54,656 compared to $42,090 dollars for the average Rhode Island household and $41,994 for the average household in the United States (US Census Bureau). The median family income in Cumberland is also above average according to the 2000 census; the median family income was $63,194 in Cumberland compared to $52,781 for the state and $50,046 for the entire country (US Census Bureau). The per capita income in Cumberland in 1999 was $25,592, $3904 dollars higher than the average per capita income in Rhode Island and $4005 dollars higher than that of the United States (US Census Bureau). In a continuation of economic statistics from the Cumberland area, the most recent research done by the Bureau of Labor shows that the unemployment rate in Cumberland reached 6.5% in June, when the current national average is about 6.1%, so the town of Cumberland is currently suffering some economic hardship much like the rest of the country (Bureau of Labor). Property taxes are not especially high in Cumberland, residents only pay $12.38 for every $1000 of assessment according to Municipal Affairs (RI Municipal affairs). The town of Cumberland is not largely occupied by impoverished either, only 2.9% of Cumberland families in 1999 were below the poverty level versus 8.9% of the families of Rhode Island under the poverty line and 9.2% of the families of the United States (US Census Bureau). Individuals in Cumberland also seem to fare well in this statistic, only 3.9% of Individuals in Cumberland were below the poverty line in 1999 against 11.9% of individuals in Rhode Island and 12.4% of individuals in the United States (US Census Bureau). Cumberland is largely a well educated community, 81.4% of the population has at least graduated from high school and 29.5 % of the population has at least gotten a bachelors degree (US Census Bureau).Income/Poverty
From an ethnicity standpoint, Cumberland is not a diverse community. In Cumberland, 99.1% of the people are one race and 96.7% percent of the people are just white. Only .6% of the population is African American, only .8% is Asian, and only 2.1% of the people in Cumberland somehow define themselves as Hispanic or Latino according to the 2000 census (US Census Bureau). In statistics for the state of Rhode Island they measured that the population was 85% white, 4.5% Black, 2.3% Asian, and 8.7% Hispanic (US Census Bureau). The United States is much more diverse than either the Cumberland or Rhode Island, in 2000 they calculated that the country was 75.1% white, 12.3% African American, 3.6% Asian, and 12.5% Hispanic. Cumberland is 52.3% female and 47.7% male versus 50.9% female and 49.1% male for the United States (US Census Bureau).
Race Table
According to reports from parents, the schools in Cumberland are very welcoming to parents. There is a good parent organization running parallel with the school system, although most of the parents with students at the High School feel parents are more involved with the younger grades and the older ones don't receive as much attention. The general consensus though over the years has been that the community supports its schools (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). The community of Cumberland may be affluent on average but lacking diversity, it may currently be suffering from economic hardship but the community of Cumberland would not have schools at the level that they have without the support of the township and community of Cumberland.
The District
The Cumberland school district is a big school district for a state that contains just over a million people, educating 4997 people, across 8 schools, in the past school year of the over 142000 kids that were being educated in the state (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). But where does Cumberland get money to run this enormous school district? In the 2007-2008 school year the Cumberland school district spent $48,885,651 educating its students. 35.1 million dollars of that money to fund this district came from local tax revenue, in other words, 70% of the budget is provided from local funds. Another 13.3 million dollars is provided for the school from state tax revenue, 26% of the schools budget. The final 4% of the budget is funds provided by the federal government, or 2 million dollars (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). Compared to the averages state wide, the Cumberland school district gets more of its money from local taxes, the average school in Rhode Island gets 55% of its funds from local taxes, adding up to 1.1 billion dollars statewide; on average 37% of school funds are provided through state taxes and 8% from federal taxes, this adds up to 749.8 and 145.6 million dollars respectively (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008).On a per student basis, the funds going into the Cumberland school district add up to $9,783 dollars per pupil for all programs, without other commitments. This is not as much funding as the average Rhode Island student who ,on average, receives about $12,700 annually (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). When comparing the per-pupil expenditure fund in just general education Cumberland still falls behind the state average at $7386 compared to the average general education student in Rhode Island at $9409 (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). Of the average per-pupil expenditures in Cumberland, $5554 goes to the instruction, $1800 to instructional support, $1846 to operations and $584 goes to leadership (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). An additional $223 dollars goes to the 646 students that qualify under title I, the 1041 students receiving special education receive $13,210 on average, $6368 goes to the 77 students in career and technical education, and the 35 students who are considered English language learners receive $12,744. In Rhode Island, Title I students typically receive $536, special education students usually get $16,382, $4249 goes to each student in career and technical education usually, and the average English language learner receives $7931 (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008).
Sources of Revenue/Funding
All Programs
All Programs
General Education
General Education
Students
Teachers
Ratio
Expenditure
Expenditure
Support
Education
The Cumberland district also has to send funding to students with added needs and reallocate funds to kids in certain programs. According to state, the Cumberland district has made adequate progress, but only one school was commended for it's performance.The schools in the Cumberland district struggled, they almost totally failed to meet the statewide average in standardized testing in all age groups and categories. All of the schools in the Cumberland district have been targeted for improvement meaning something has gone wrong in this district. In the Cumberland district the average student to teacher ratio is 1:11 compared to the state's 1:10 average. In the Cumberland school district, 13% of the students are eligible for the subsidized lunch programs, 7% of the students come from ethnic backgrounds, 2% require ESL services from the school, and 19% of the students body receives some form of special education needs (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). The Cumberland district, according to these statistics may not be overly diverse ethnically but like many other districts the needs of the student body are. According to RIDE mandates, any student who is outside of walking distance from the school receives busing to school no matter what, 1/4 a mile for kindergarten students, 1/2 for grades 1-5, 1 mile for 6-8, and 1 1/2 miles for for grades 9-12. Cumberland offer a number of athletic programs from football, baseball, Cross country, softball, to girls indoor track, wrestling and so on. The Clippers have combined for 82 state titles and 3 New England championships in various programs.
Student Characteristics
The School
Cumberland High School on 2600 is a big part of the community in Cumberland. At this school is where close to 1500 kids finish their secondary school education and are escorted into adulthood, whether that leads them to an advancement in their education in the hopes of making it big, or off into the professional world to get a head start on their peers. At Cumberland High, students are given the opportunity and use the opportunity to test their knowledge all the way up to the AP level, nearly a quarter of the senior population in the 2006-2007 school year took an AP exam at some point, 63% of which scored with a college-level mastery of the subject. General education students at Cumberland High School have been exceeding the expectations set for them by No Child Left Behind. Saying that, while the general education students have been performing well, students in the special education area of this school have been floundering. In 2007 students with disabilities did not reach their targeted math score in standardized testing, placing the school under caution by No Child Left Behind. In 2008, students with disabilities at Cumberland High School struggled even more, failing to meet the criteria for both mathematics and English language arts. The next thing to look at when judging a school system is seeing whether or not it is a safe and supportive environment for the students who go to that school. At Cumberland High School, 43% of students said that they had been robbed at some point and 37% claimed someone had offered to sell them drugs, numbers that are a little high to be comfortable with. Also, 18% said they had a problem getting along with teachers and 13% reported that they had had a serious problem with being bullied by another student. Another statistic that could bother someone looking into Cumberland High School is that only 16% of students felt like they could talk to a teacher about a personal or family problem, and only 47% thought they could talk to a teacher about an academic problem, their area of expertise. Cumberland does not do as much as the rest of the state high schools in keeping the student to teacher ratio low, the ratio at this school is 1:13 compared to 1:10 for the state average.Compared to the rest of the state, Cumberland is also behind in standardized testing. In the past year, they have been behind the state average in every testing category in mathematics and English language arts while also being behind in school climate, parental involvement, and instruction by the same standards. Cumberland High School students are only 56% proficient in math skills and 28% proficient in problem solving, compared to 57% and 35% proficiency respectively across Rhode Island. Cumberland students are also falling behind their peers in the state in reading analysis and interpretation (43% v. 44%) and writing effectiveness (39% v. 48%). One thing that Cumberland High School does have going for it is that they have a good graduation rate and fewer dropouts than the state average. In Rhode Island the average graduation rate is 89% with a complementary 11% dropout rate. At Cumberland High School, the graduation rate is 93% and the dropout rate is only 7%. According to the teachers at Cumberland High School, parental involvement is something to be worked on. 65% of teacher at Cumberland High School say that parental involvement in school governance is essential, but only 19% of teacher feel that parents in the community are supportive of the school. 59% of teachers say they maintain positive relationships with parents but that is a figure much lower than many other schools in the state.
Value-added Indicators
In the state of Rhode Island, 33% of the student population is eligible for the subsidized lunch program, compared to only 11% of the students in Cumberland, so Cumberland is more affluent than the average area from the bottom up (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). The state of Rhode Island also has much more diverse schools on average than Cumberland. 69.4% of students in Rhode Island high schools are white, 18% are Hispanic, 8.8% are Black, and 3.1% are Asian. In Cumberland, 91% of the Students are White, 5% are Hispanic, and 1% are Black and Asian each (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008).This lack of ethnic diversity is a sign of a great lack of cultural diversity in the area of Cumberland, as it is almost homogeneously white and there is no sign of mass immigrations to the community. In the state of Rhode Island, 5.1% of students receive ESL education or bilingual education versus no significant percentage in the Cumberland High School. Cumberland does provide about the average amount of special education services though, 18.5% of students across Rhode Island versus 18% in Cumberland High School (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2008). Cumberland High School does have a fair share of extracurricular activities though, with 20 sports teams and 28 clubs at the school students have plenty of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of the classroom (RI High School Sports). Overall, Cumberland High School is a school that ,while not very diverse, has shown the ability to provide a good curriculum for its students in AP testing but in recent years the school has started to slip according to state and federal testing standards and in communication between students, teachers and parents.
Conclusion
After gathering information on Cumberland, the Cumberland school district, and Cumberland High School this report reflects that while these are not a good slice of the face of America compared to demographics in the Census for the state and country, Cumberland schools have shown a great ability to perform over the years, but there has been some slippage. The community has begun to fall behind, which is surprising for an affluent community. Even though this decline has been unexpected, there are ares that are easy to target for improvement in the schools, and it starts in the community with the parents. Teachers want more parental involvement with school governance, they want parents to have more say in what goes on with their kids' education. If the parents can get more involved it will lead to better communication between parents and teachers which can then lead to a better identification of what individual students need in order to achieve to the best of their ability. So for any prospective teacher that want to come to Cumberland, there is some work to do, but this school has shown the ability to perform at high standards and it will be expected that you assist in helping the school return to that level. It is important to be able to analyze the information in reports like this because the education system is the building block for invention, innovation and improvement across society, so it is critical that we are informed and that we understand what is going on in schools, districts, and communities across the country and what we can do to improve them to aid the education system at-large.Resources
No Child Left Behind. (2007). 2007 School Report Card. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.eride.ri.gov/reportcard/07/ReportCard.aspx?schCode=08114&schType=3.No Child Left Behind. (2008). 2008 School Report Card. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.eride.ri.gov/reportcard/08/ReportCard.aspx?schCode=08114&schType=3.
Bureau of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics Data. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/dsrv.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Cirriculum and Instruction: Advanced Placement Exams. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/state/ap.pdf.
Cumberland School Department. (2007). Cumberland District Transportation Policy. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.cumberlandschools.org/transportation/index.htm.
Cumberland School Department. Cumberland High School. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.cumberlandschools.org/schools/CHS/index.htm.
US Census Bureau. Cumberland town, Providence County, Rhode Island - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from Link
US Census Bureau. Cumberland town, Providence County, Rhode Island - Population Finder - American FactFinder. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from other link
Cumberland Library. cumberlandhigh.gif (GIF Image, 353x160 pixels). . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.cumberlandlibrary.org/imagesya/cumberlandhigh.gif.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). District Demographics and Indicators. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/ds-usinginfo/08d-info.pdf.
Mapquest. Driving Directions from Cumberland, RI to Providence, RI. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Cumberland&1s=RI&2c=Providence&2s=RI.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Engaging Families and Communities. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/state/engagingfamilies-high.pdf.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Equity and Adequacy of Resources: Per-Pupil Expenditures. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/ds-insite-bar/08d-expb.pdf.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Equity and Adequacy of Resources: Per-pupil Expenditures at CHS. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/insite/08114H-expb.pdf.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Equity and Adequacy of Resources: Program Expenditures. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/ds-insite-pie/08d-expp.pdf.
Wright, A. J. (2004). History of Cumberland, Rhode Island. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rigenweb/article251.html.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Information Works : Rhode Island Public Schools 2008 : Help. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/queries/FindDist.asp?District=08.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Information Works : Rhode Island Public Schools 2008 : School Reports. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/queries/FindSch.asp.
No Child Left Behind. (2003). Report Card. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.eride.ri.gov/reportcard/03/rcAccountability.asp?schCode=08114&grade=10.
RI Municipal affairs. Rhode Island 2008-2009 Tax Rates. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.riliving.com/TaxRates.asp.
RIDE. (2007). RIDE Mandates 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.northsmithfieldschools.com/PDFs/RIDE%20Mandates%202007.pdf.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Safe and Supportive Schools: Students' Point of View. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/state/pov-high.pdf.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). School Performance. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/ds-performance/08d-perf.pdf.
RI High School Sports. School Team Championship Pages C. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.rihssports.com/CHAMPIONSHIPS%20ORGANIZED/BY%20SCHOOL/School%20Pages/School%20Pages%20C.htm.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Using Information. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/usinginfo/08114H-info.pdf.
National Center on Public Education and Social Policy. (2008). Using Information-- Statewide. . Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/state/profile-char-class.pdf.
Eval---Nathaniel Shaw